[Art of ASMR – artist interviews]

Meet Claire Tolan and her intriguing array of ASMR-inspired artistic projects

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityClaire Tolan is an artist residing in Berlin, Germany who is weaving ASMR into new and exciting artistic domains.

She has created and hosts a regular ASMR radio show, has incorporated ASMR into a surveillance-themed exhibition, has integrated ASMR into a Techno night club, is merging ASMR and karaoke to explore facets of audience participation, is putting the finishing touches on an ASMR ring tone project, and also has some ASMR-themed games in her crucible.

And if all that is not enough, Claire has even collaborated with the American musician Holly Herndon to produce, what Wired magazine calls, “the album’s most curious track.”

If art is a manifestation of the essence and being of an artist, then my interview with Claire showed me that her projects are only a glimmer of the profound and intriguing person behind those productions.

In my interview with Claire she shares her interest in the therapeutic potential of ASMR, how ASMR can be said to “leak with love”, her incorporation of data into her work, her beliefs and involvements with political activism, her reasons for defending ASMR, her favorite YouTube ASMR artists, and more.

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Creative researcher merges ASMR with Opera

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ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityLee Scott fulfills three roles at Bath Spa University in the UK as an educator, digital technologist and graduate student.

He is a creative researcher in digital media, the subject leader of Creative Computing, and a Ph.D. candidate in interactive experiences for web and mobile devices in the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries.

Lee also has a deep interest in opera.  And this is not your grandmother’s opera – this is “new opera”.

New opera is technically-mastered, digitally-optimized, emotionally-charged, story-driven, and carefully coded for internet delivery, smart device consumption, and headphone immersion.

New opera may remind you of another type of sensorial and emotional experience, and Lee would agree.

Lee’s other deep interest is ASMR, and so he collaborated with the ASMR artist adreambeam to produce the digital-based web opera, “The Village.”

Another advantage of delivering and experiencing opera through electronic media is that Lee was able to research and analyze viewer behaviors associated with the ASMR aspects of his digital opera.

In my interview with Lee he shares how the collaboration with the ASMR artist adreambeam developed, the relationship between ASMR and opera, his insights on frisson vs ASMR, his development of an ASMR and opera-themed game, research data from his web opera, and more.

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Update #2 about “Murmurs”, a cinematic ASMR movie currently in production

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian ResponseThis is update #2 about the first full-length feature movie about ASMR titled, ‘Murmurs’.

Graeme Cole is the filmmaker of Murmurs – which can be tantalizingly summarized as, “A reclusive ASMR superstar invites an online date to her studio. A paranoid romance with tingles.”

Murmurs is currently in the editing phase, but Graeme has just posted an update on the progress of the movie, an expansion of the production team, and an early response to an initial cut.

Spoiler: the first review of the initial cut is quite positive.

Below you will find a link to the full details of the production update and information on how you can help to support the continued progress of the movie.

I’ve also included links to video clips from Murmurs, video clips of Graeme, a link to the Murmurs Facebook page, and I’ve pasted in the full text of my prior posts.

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Meet Dana ASMR, a Korean ASMR artist with almost 100,000 followers

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityDaham “Dana” Park is an undergraduate university student majoring in Journalism and Advertising in Seoul, South Korea.

Dana also creates Korean-language and English-language ASMR videos on YouTube as “Dana ASMR”.

She started her video channel in 2013, at the start of the rise of ASMR in South Korea.  She has currently been seeing a strong surge of interest in ASMR in South Korea as her YouTube channel is nearing 100,000 followers.

In my interview with Dana she shares how ASMR videos made in South Korea differ from ASMR videos from other countries, if the understanding of ASMR is different in South Korea compared to other countries, how her blog is helping others in her country to understand ASMR better, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, her replies in italics, and links to her YouTube channel, Facebook page, blog, and Instagram account.

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Update: Support “Murmurs”, a cinematic ASMR movie currently in production

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityUpdate to the August 5, 2015 post (prior post included at end of this update).

Congratulations to Graeme Cole, the filmmaker producing the cinematic movie, “Murmurs”, about an ASMR artist.  His fundraising campaign achieved its goal.  The raised funds will assist him in the final steps to complete and market the movie.

The campaign site remains open to allow visitors to see his fundraising journey so far, to view video clips from the movie, and to provide post-goal contributions which will further assist him to bring his movie to life.

Graeme also has a Facebook page to keep everyone updated about the progress of the movie.

Below is my congratulations to Graeme in bold, his reply in italics, a link to his campaign site, a link to his Facebook page, and the prior post which includes a full interview with Graeme and information about the movie.

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Meet WhisperSparkles, one of the first ASMR artists on YouTube

/ Dr. Richard / 2 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityAmanda McDonnell is a mother of four children and has a diploma in Medical Sciences from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

She is originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland and is currently living in Glasgow, Scotland.

Amanda is also known as the ASMR artist, WhisperSparkles.

The first whisper channel on YouTube appeared in 2009 (see the History of ASMR for more details).  Amanda created her channel soon after in 2010, making her one of the first dedicated whisperers on the internet.

In my interview with Amanda she shares why she created a whisper channel is 2010, how ASMR videos have changed over time, how her interest in ASMR helped her to meet her fiancé, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, her replies in italics, and a link to her YouTube channel so you can enjoy her early videos from 2010, as well as, her most recent videos.

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Meet Deep Ocean of Sounds, an ASMR artist and the creator of a new binaural recording device.

/ Dr. Richard / 2 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityPawel is an ASMR artist living in Poland who creates content under the name, “Deep Ocean of Sounds.”

He is one of the few top artists who does not whisper or talk in any way, his ASMR productions are just trigger sounds.

Although “just” is an understatement.

Many of his productions are 3-dimensional experiences in which the listener is immersed in a multi-layer recreation of a triggering scenario like a haircut or walking in a forest.  Additionally, he creates high quality binaural productions focused on single triggering sounds like the sound of scratching or the sound of wooden blocks.

Pawel also recently created and marketed his own binaural recording device, a dummy head with microphones built into silicone ears.

In my interview with Pawel he explains what ‘binaural’ means, how he creates his 3-D sound, information about his new dummy head recording device, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, his replies in italics, links to his ASMR recordings, and a link to his new binaural microphones. Continue reading →

Support “Murmurs”, a cinematic ASMR movie currently in production

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityGraeme Cole is a filmmaker who received his B.A. degree in Screen Studies from John Moores University in Liverpool, England.

In 2013, he moved to Bosnia where he is working on his M.F.A. degree in Filmmaking from the Sarajevo Film Academy’s Film.Factory.

Graeme has been creating independent films for over 15 years, and now he has decided to create a movie about ASMR.

The short description of his ASMR movie is, “A reclusive ASMR superstar invites an online date to her studio.  A paranoid romance with tingles.”

The film utilizes ASMR as a central theme to explore the meaning of intimacy and trust between individuals and within society.  This demonstrates a great understanding of ASMR by Graeme.  Intimacy and trust are believed by many ASMR video creators, ASMR video viewers, and myself to be at the core of ASMR.

The film is almost ready, but he does need some last minute assistance to complete and launch his production.

In my interview with Graeme he shares his ASMR triggers (with one of the most poetic and accurate descriptions I have heard about what ASMR feels like), his favorite ASMR artists, his inspiration for the film, challenges with creating an ASMR movie, how funding will be used to complete and launch the production, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, his replies in italics, and an Indiegogo link so you can watch clips from the movie and also help support the completion of his production.

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Meet “Singing ASMR”, an ASMR artist on YouTube who creates tingly lullabies

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityKarin was born in Bucharest, Romania and now resides in South Germany. She has a Magister Artium’s Degree in German literature and minored in sociology and philosophy.

Karin is also the ASMR artist known as “Singing ASMR” on YouTube.

My initial thought about her was that she might be confusing “frisson”, the chills due to music, with ASMR. I expected to hear someone singing in a typical voice, which is not commonly considered a usual trigger for ASMR.

But then I listened to one of her videos.

She sings very softly and gently, almost in a whisper voice. “ASMR lullabies” may be a great way to describe her style – her singing is likely to be soothing to children and adults alike. Her channel also includes videos of role plays, tappings, brushings, layered sounds, and more.

In my interview with Karin she shares how she came up with the idea of singing ASMR, insight about her most popular video, challenges with creating ASMR videos, ideas for ASMR research, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, her replies in italics, and links to her YouTube channel and other sites.

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Meet softlygaloshes, an ASMR artist and the founder of ASMRYouReady.com

/ Dr. Richard / 2 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityRebekah “Bekah” Smith is a California resident known widely as the ASMR artist softlygaloshes.

She has created about 150 ASMR videos so far and continues to post new videos every 4 days. Her consistent production of high quality, binaural videos has attracted a growing fan base of over 90,000 followers to her channel.

But Bekah is not just a prolific ASMR artist, she is also a blogger and founder of the website ASMRYouReady.com.

ASMRYouReady.com is an extremely content-rich website. Visitors can enjoy frequently posted articles about ASMR, discussions on topics relevant to ASMR fans and artists, interviews with new and established ASMR artists, ASMR videos which can be sorted by category, and “The Tinglies” contest for ASMR videos.

She currently runs the website with the assistance of Kris, the ASMR artist known as WhisperBits. Kris is one of the content creators, as well as providing valuable web and graphic designer contributions to the site.

I interviewed Bekah to learn a bit more about her and her website. Bekah shares why she started creating ASMR videos, her motivation for creating ASMRYouReady.com, how her understanding of ASMR has changed over time, what she would say to scientists pondering ASMR research, and more.

Below are my questions in bold, her replies in italics, and links to her website and YouTube channel.

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